John Updike dies

John Updike, 76, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, died today, according to an e-mail from his publisher.

John Updike at Book Expo America in 2006.

"It is with great sadness that I report that John Updike died this morning at the age of 76, after a battle with lung cancer. He was one of our greatest writers, and he will be sorely missed," wrote Nicholas Latimer, VP of publicity at Knopf.

A prolific writer, arguably most known for his Rabbit novel series, Mr. Updike wrote more than 50 books in as many years, the most recent being The Widows of Eastwick, the sequel to his 1984 hit The Witches of Eastwick.